The third Monday in January is known as the most depressing day of the year. Apparently, it’s because of bad weather, the longer dark days and overindulging during the festive period. Not forgetting about that ‘New Year, New Me’ feeling we all experience only adds to that sense of dread.
To combat this Blue Monday feeling, the Samaritans launched Brew Monday with the aim to turn the day into something more positive encouraging people to have a chat over a cup of tea (the develop team highly recommend a few biscuits for dunking as well!). The events of 2020 have made it more important to reach out to friends and family, check in and stay connected which is why this year develop are supporting Brew Monday from the comfort of our own homes. On January 18th, everyone in the company now has a longer lunch – consultants can use this time to spend more time exercising outside, check in with a loved one or to have some much needed ‘me’ time.
develop are passionate about supporting the mental and physical health of our employees. The pandemic saw mental health referrals in the UK significantly increase and we felt a responsibility to help all employees through this.
In August 2020 we launched our wellbeing initiative to highlight the importance of employee health. We’ve worked with Health Coach Michelle Flynn, we launched a cycle to work scheme, we regularly send health and wellness tips to the team, we have regular company calls and we have quarterly charity days. Read more on our wellness initiative here.
No one should suffer in silence. If you’re worried about your mental health these websites below offer advice and tips for taking care of your mental wellbeing:
Samaritans
MentalHealth.org
BBC
Kooth PLC